Social media marketing

What might surprise you is how quickly Twitter is growing as the social medium of choice among Fortune 500 companies. According to recent studies like “Fortune 500 and Social Media: A Longitudinal Study of Blogging and Twitter Usage by America’s Largest Companies,” conducted by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and Financial Insite, a Seattle-based Research Firm, Twitter is the platform of choice for Fortune 500 social media marketers.

The study examined the 2009 Fortune 500 in an attempt to quantify their adoption of social media tools and technologies, finding that 22% of Fortune 500 companies have a public-facing corporate blog – six percent more than 2008. The study also found that 86% of these blogs link directly to a corporate Twitter account, a 300% increase over 2008. Even more corporations have Twitter accounts, but not all link to them from their blog.

It would appear that Fortune 500 marketers are moving fast to Twitter for engaging with their key audiences. Of course, upon further analysis, you’d find that only 35% of these Twitter accounts are active – described as having been updated within the past 30 days. If I’m reading the study correctly, that means 65% are not being actively used.

While Fortune 500 companies have realized they need to be on Twitter – probably as defense against username squatting – few have truly embraced Twitter as a social channel. 

Of the groups that have engaged most heavily with Twitter, the insurance industry is leading the way, with 13 active Twitter accounts according to the study. Of course there are also companies like Exxon Mobil, the #1 company in the Fortune 500, that have no presence on Twitter.

A separate analysis of Fortune 500 Twitter, “The Global Social Media Check-Up” conducted by Burson-Marstellar, found that 79% of Fortune 100 Global companies are using one of four popular social media platforms, with Twitter leading Facebook, YouTube and corporate blogging as the platform of choice.

65% of Fortune Global 100 companies have active accounts on Twitter, while only 54% have Facebook accounts, 50% have YouTube channels, and 33% have a corporate blog. There is still plenty of room for improvement here.

Why Is Twitter the Preferred Platform?

Nobody knows for sure why Twitter is so popular, but there’s a good chance that it’s because it’s the easiest platform to launch. Companies can have a Twitter account up and running in a couple of hours (or less). There is a lot more work to do to launch a YouTube channel, corporate blog, or Facebook presence. It also takes considerably less resources to manage content production and audience interaction on Twitter than these other platforms. It’s a relatively low-cost and low-maintenance option for getting in the social media game.

Are Fortune 500 companies getting any value out of Twitter though? According to the Burson-Marstellar study, the answer is “yes”. Twitter accounts to the Fortune Global 100 average 1,489 followers. This doesn’t seem like much when you consider the average Facebook fan page for these companies has more than 40,000 fans, but it's progress.

A full copy of the new research report can be downloaded here: http://www.umassd.edu/cmr/studiesresearch.

1. How to organize and integrate your marketing operation to create a cohesive message
2. How to identify early in the process if you are achieving your goals
3. How to optimize your branding efforts and align them with your sales organization

• RedBull Connect – This site gives users access to information and articles from several Red Bull websites. This is a nice repository for everything related to red Bull without smacking users in the face with its advertising.  Consumers can comment, post, and interact with others without being forced to buy a Red Bull while, at the same time, red Bull always being part of the equation.

• Citysearch – The Facebook Connect portion of this is minimal; this is a good example of utilizing FB Connect to grab user information without implementing it for advertising.  The site personalizes your location when you connect with FB and automatically creates your personal profile and connects you with other Facebook friends on Citysearch - allowing you to share restaurant and other local recommendations via your Facebook feed.

• Pandora – Pandora uses less of a full-blown Facebook Connect microsite, and more of an application, but it is still a nice use of Facebook technology. The application can be used to share songs or a station with your Facebook friends.

In the last few years, there's been a lot of talk about moving beyond the 30 second commercial. This is more than just a commentary on format. It is really speaking to the way people consume media and the best way to leverage that consumption to get your brand’s message out. Web and mobile are providing a greater percentage of viewer’s video content, and that trend is increasing. But even though they are viewing their content on a different screen, they are still looking for an entertaining and engaging video experience.

The most successful commercial campaigns have always been the ones that entertain, whether humorous, touching, or visually stimulating. As the viewer’s lives become more media saturated, their desire to be entertained becomes more acute. This is why an old concept has resurrected, albeit in an updated form. Branded entertainment was the norm in the early days of television and it’s time has come again. Rather than trying to make commercials entertaining enough to capture consumers’ attention, why not create entertaining programming that promotes your brand. Branded entertainment, when done correctly, is a very effective way to get your brand noticed. Not only will you be putting your brand in front of your customers, you will actually enlist them in spreading the word. The challenge is to create something consumers will associate with your brand in a positive way that will not feel like merely an extended commercial.

For less than what it might cost to create a traditional commercial campaign and buy the media time, you can have a short film or series produced, put it on the web, and get millions of eyes on it. A series has an advantage over a single spot in that it can grab viewers and become a destination, allowing secondary branding opportunities. As with any advertising, there are many failed attempts at this. In order to be successful, you can't throw up just any old thing and hope it sticks. On the web, content is king, and consumers are becoming increasingly discriminating about what they will watch and pass to others. They may have switched screens, but they are looking for the same level of content they are used to seeing on television. There is a lot of competition for people’s attention but right now well produced and entertaining content is hard to come by. Now is the time to take advantage of the void. Produce a great show and users will find you. The most common mistake is thinking that something for web use does not need the attention you might give to something that will be shown on TV. Because the cost of getting something up on the web is cheap (relative to traditional media) many old-guard agencies tend to not put enough money into production. They fall back on old patterns that tie budget to the cost of the media. It is important to put the proper resources into creating your property.

And even though I have spoken mostly about web and mobile as fast growing platforms, that doesn’t mean it is time to abandon the television. Some of the lessons we are learning in the digital realm can be applied to traditional TV. More and more shows are using embedded sponsorship. And the numbers of channels available in specific markets make the prospect of producing a branded show an economic reality. The world of entertainment is changing quickly, with new options and possibilities opening up every day.

1. SalesView:

1. Website analytics - If your initiative includes the enhancement or redesign of a website, start the project with an examination of your existing analytics data. If you don't have any, stop reading this and go get it. Figure out what will be important to you later. It may be as simple as traffic volume, visit duration, cost per ad spend or conversion rates. But you may find a need to collect custom data as well. Almost every analytics package out there has that capability.
2. External data - In this context, external data is performance data obtained through your CRM package or 3rd party sources. Call center volumes or in-store data would fall into this category. You need an adequate way to access it and you need historical references.
3. Email marketing - If your initiative includes modifications to email marketing programs, make sure your provider is collecting meaningful data on open and click-through rates. And make sure you'll have access to historical data to create a trending analysis.

Our CTO, Paul Hernacki, demonstrated Microsoft tags to the internal team here at Def 6.  Tags are great for users on the go who see something in print and want more info than you would want to fit in a small ad space or on a map.
 
Users point their mobile devices at a Tag and instantly jump to a site where they can:
Make a reservation
Look at a menu
Get directions
Download a coupon
Order products
Read a review

The Tag can be location-specific so that directions and promos are relevant.  Tracking tells which tags are scanned, as well as, when and where they were scanned.

See a video at:
http://blogs.gotdotnet.com/bfridley/archive/2009/05/11/microsoft-tag-in-hospitality.aspx

Get free tag app for your phone at:
http://gettag.mobi

Can Microsoft Tags benefit your business?  Let us help you with your strategy by assessing all your marketing efforts.  We'll determine which tags would make the most sense.  We can set them up and deliver them to your marketing group to incorporate in your marketing campaigns.  We specialize in landing pages that convert, too.  Let me know if we can help you!

I was recently reading an article on Marketing Sherpa which was discussing their latest email marketing summit.  The article had a number of great insights on steps companies can take to improve their email programs.

The article served as reminder of how easy it is to become engulfed in the day to day or routine of your email program and how important it is to take a step back and examine the program as a whole.  Taking the time, even if it is quarterly or annually, to ensure that the email communications you are sending are both relevant and timely to your customer is imperative. 
Let’s take a look at a company within the retail industry; company A.  For years they have sent weekly emails to their customer list.  The weekly email is always composed of three offers.  Open rates are varied within a certain range, but are not showing any improvement as the program matures.  One cause of this lack of progress may be that the company has never taken a step back to evaluate who they are communicating to, why their consumer wants to hear from the company and how often this consumer would like to hear from them.   By answering these 3 fairly simple questions the company can begin to make program improvements.
1. Who are you communicating to?

This question is key to any successful email program.  It allows you to begin the process of segmentation at a base level.  Many times this data is a part of the enrollment process or may come from your CRM; some examples: is the customer a man or a woman, what is their age range, what are their interests (related to your products), do they purchase for themselves or for others, are purchases based on events (birthdays, anniversaries, etc), there are multitudes of questions you can ask which will help you to learn more about your customer. 

2. Why does the consumer want to hear from you?

Different customers are looking for different experiences with your brand.  Some may only want promotional communications – they only want to transact with your brand.  Other customers may be less interested in promotions and more interested in related lifestyle information.   Creating these differing communications and allowing recipients to choose which message they receive empowers the user and should improve both the short and long term stats of your program.

3. How often does the consumer want to hear from you?

How many lists is your customer signed up for?  How many emails are they receiving daily?  One way to ensure that you are not the list they unsubscribe from due to irrelevant and untimely communications is to give them the option.  Ask the consumer how often they would like to receive communications from you. This puts them in control.  When they receive a message from you, whether it is weekly, daily or monthly they have asked for that email and expect it.

By tackling the three issues above you can make great strides in your email program.  The main takeaways here are to know as much as you can about your customer – tailor your communications based on this information and to put the in control – allow them to “opt-in” not only to being on your list, but also to the frequency and types of communications they will receive.

Project Manager, Lisa Seals, shared a great case study with us that she found on the Marketing Professionals site.  The study talks about how the Days Inn chain uses mobile text marketing as opposed to mass email marketing and rich media advertising to communicate with guests, build loyalty, increase revenue and provide value-add services.  The article boasts text marketing as “customer service 2.0” for the hospitality industry.  Here are a few key items Lisa shared with our Client Services team…

1. Building the opt-in list.  The campaign began by generating awareness for the new texting program - front-desk associates ask guests at check-in whether they'd like to participate.  Special contests are set in place driving people to text (and opt-) in order to win a weekend getaway.  The program was promoted through elevator notices, keycard holders, and other key collateral.

2. Engaging the opt-ins.  The chain implemented a marketing plan of text messages which consisted of general promotions, hotel-specific promotions, and customized messages based on guests’ specific needs.

3. Lessons Learned.  The chain used a double opt-in program to attract only those guests who were truly interested – guests were reassured that their information would not be shared.  The time of day for messaging was considered for nationwide messages and messages were managed on frequency depending on a guest's length of stay.

Days Inn had a 22% increase in room upgrades and substantial increases in website traffic through their text marketing campaign.  There was even an increase in the use of hotel amenities with a 15-20% increase in reward program signups – not to mention the immeasurable increase in brand awareness.
 

Definition 6 Client Manager, Ira Gross, discovered an enlightening article in the Wall Street Journal around the impact of implementing overnight sends for email marketing newsletters.  The article mentions that companies who execute marketing programs in concert with their customers pay cycle are yielding better returns than performing promotions without paying attention to that cycle.  A few items worth mentioning from the article:

1. People buy bigger ticket items closer to payday
2. People spend less at the end of the month
3. Aligning promotions and offerings to pay cycles yeilds stronger sales

Given the current economic situation, firms need to understand their customers cash on hand and run appropriate promotions.  If you are running tartgeted email marketing campaigns, this article is definitely worth checking out.

An interactive advertising agency is in business to help its customers make more money at a lower cost than they did yesterday!  This meshes nicely with a Peter Drucker thought: "Because it is the purpose to create a customer, any business enterprise has two-and only two-basic functions: marketing and innovation." So if those of us in Interactive Marketing buy into this mindset, we are are at the epicenter of business. We are innovative marketers.

Let me give an example of what I mean. Let's say you come to your agency with the problem of losing sales leads when your customers come into contact with your retail partners floor sales staff. You have tried training programs, spiff, even eMail marketing Newsletters to stay top of mind with your partners. Unfortunately, they still often dislodge your customer from buying your brand and direct them to another brand. (you should confirm that you don't have a pricing or quality problem) How should you expect your Interactive advertising agency to solve this problem?

Some agencies will give you a better PPC plan, others will try on-line coupons, some might even talk about lifestyle content around your product via eNewsletters, but this is more of the same. An innovative partner will start with the simple question: "Why isn't your customer loyalty to your brand when the get to the store?" so they will solve the problem; "How to make our customers loyal before reaching the sales person". This is where innovation comes from, asking the root cause questions and not simply slapping tactic against the wall and hoping for results.

Definition 6 Client Manager, Gabe Rand, on the impact of implement overnight sends on your next targeted email marketing campaign...

I recently read an article on the Marketing Sherpa site about how a company using email marketeing services ccontinued to test email send times after a previous test showed a surprising boost in CTRs for messages sent out overnight. They wanted to verify tests of this unconventional time to make sure the rate held up.  What the article points out is that:

1. Varying send times may impact click throughs, even if it does not impact open rates
2. Early morning sends positively impacted click through rates, while making minor impacts on open rates
3. Be sure to not only test send times for the entire send but do a/b or split testing for the same send for multiple times of day.

In summary, continuous testing of an email program leads to additional insights and the more you know about how your consumer interacts with the messages you are sending them the more power you have.  Check out the full article by logging into MarketingSherpa.com.

Definition 6 Project Manager, Lisa Seals, on what not to do on FaceBook…

Before establishing a social media strategy, particular as it involves FaceBook, it’s important to understand the laws regulating how you market your product or service.  Failure to adhere to these regulations can result in warnings, requests for immediate action, suspension, termination/disablement of an application or just plain user turnoff.  Online Ad Agency Definition 6 can help you avoid making these mistakes when launching a campaign on FaceBook.

1. Infringing on Intellectual Property Rights - The legal rights bestowed by regulatory trademarks and copyrights are binding in the social media realm.
2. Pretending to Be Someone You're Not - FaceBook explicitly states that applications must not be designed "to impersonate any person" or "in a manner that is misleading, deceptive or fraudulent."
3. Violating Users' Privacy Rights
4. Flouting the Accepted Rules of User Engagement - FaceBook policy dictates that applications may no longer offer incentives to users for inviting friends or adding profile boxes, etc.

FaceBook is implementing more controls for establishing trust between users and companies who market on the site and in November 2008, they launched an Application Verification program, which rewards marketers with a certification seal - similar to the VeriSign logo used on e-commerce sites.  To read the entire article, login to MarketingProfs.com.
 

Definition 6 Technical Project Manager, Mike Reese, delivered an article presentation on developing effective affiliate polices.  Affiliate policies can be an extremely lucrative supplement to your standard marketing practices while at the same time they can also be harmful.  Without an explicit set of policies and rules to govern affiliate programs, you may find your company being misrepresented thus driving down revenue and reputation.

We recently encountered an issue involving an affiliate that simply wasn’t playing nice. The result of this was diminished reputation and poor conversion performance. This affiliate was including my client’s website in “adware” distributed to its users, thus creating a spike in visits and reducing conversions. These users were being displayed the client’s website either unknowingly or without requesting it. This is a simple case of increased traffic not always being a good thing. Revenue generation is the key for any company, so if increased traffic is not contributing to that number is it really worth it?  And where exactly are the users coming from?  By setting guidelines, and enforcing them, you can ensure your reputation is being upheld and your own marketing message is not being diluted.

Mike closed with three final points:
1. Know your affiliates – conduct thorough research to better understand your affiliates marketing practices as well as how they intend to utilize your band and marketing messages.
2. Maintain a consistent message – your new email campaign utilizing the latest promotional offers will only serve as a point of confusion if your licensed affiliate is using last year’s campaign information
3. Enforcement – policies and regulations can only go so far.  You have to be prepared to make immediate concise action against affiliates that have broken the rules.  The quickest way to destroy your marketing message is to allow affiliate companies to continue their illegal or ill-advised practices.

You can read the article in its entirety at: http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/articles/Developing_Effective_Affiliate_Policies.aspx

Definition 6 is a leading interactive agency delivering comprehensive solutions focused on solving real business problems through analysis, strategic vision, innovation, and technical competency.  Contact us today to find out how we can help you with all of your email marketing efforts.